One million asylum seekers in 2023
Germany in the EU main destination country for refugees
December 25, 2023, 2:37 a.m
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The European Union will accept more than a million refugees in 2023. Germany is by far the main destination country for asylum seekers. New records are also expected in Brussels next year.
According to the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA), the number of asylum seekers in Germany and Europe has risen massively this year. In October alone, the authority registered around 123,000 applications, the highest monthly value in seven years, EUAA director Nina Gregori told the newspapers of the Funke media group. The total number of asylum applications in the EU will be “well over one million” in 2023. Gregori doesn’t expect an easing of tensions, on the contrary: “The world around us is becoming more and more unstable. The refugees’ need for protection will therefore not decrease in 2024 and beyond, but will in some cases even increase.” 2024 will be a “challenging year”.
According to the report, a total of around 937,000 applications were registered in the EU by the end of October – an increase of 22 percent compared to the same period last year. According to the newspapers, in Germany alone the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) counted 325,801 asylum applications by the end of November – an increase of 52 percent compared to the first eleven months of the previous year. Germany remains the main destination country for asylum seekers in the EU, said the EU Asylum Agency. According to the EUAA, Germany accounted for 27 percent of all asylum applications in October – more than the second and third placed countries France and Italy combined.
No quick relief through asylum reform
The number of refugees from Ukraine has also continued to rise. At the end of October, 4.16 million Ukrainians were registered in the EU and were enjoying temporary protection here – 320,000 more than in January, said Gregori. At the end of October, Germany was the most important receiving country in the EU with around 1.17 million Ukrainian refugees, while Poland was the second most important with 957,000 Ukrainians. Gregori welcomed the recent agreement to reform the Common European Asylum System. At the same time, she dampened hopes for rapid relief: “The new pact is not a panacea. Nobody should expect an immediate change, not even in the numerical development of asylum applications.”
But the agreed asylum and migration pact “sends a very clear message that the EU will take tough action against those who want to abuse refugee protection, including against smugglers.” At the same time, the EU is committed to creating a sustainable and hopefully future-proof world-class protection system for those who really need it.